Vicksburg, Mississippi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Vicksburg is a city located in Warren County, Mississippi. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 26,407. It is the county seat of Warren County.
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History
Incorporated in 1825, Vicksburg was created from the community of Walnut Hills and named after Newet Vick, an early settler.
During the Civil War, Vicksburg was the site of the Battle of Vicksburg, an important battle in which the Union defeated the Confederacy and gained control of the entire Mississippi River. The battle, also known as the Siege of Vicksburg, consisted of a long siege brought about by the fact that the city is located on a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and thus was largely impregnable to invaders. Because the city fell on July 4, 1863, the people of the city did not celebrate Independence Day until the time of the second world war.
Because of the city's location on the Mississippi River, its reputation in the nineteenth century often rested on the river's prodigious steamboat traffic. Between 1881 and 1896, the Anchor Line, a prominent steamboat company operating on the Mississippi River from 1859 to 1898, operated a steamboat called the City of Vicksburg, named for the city. In 1876 a Mississippi River flood cut off the large meander flowing past Vicksburg leaving access to the new channel limited. The Corps of Engineers diverted the Yazoo River in 1903 into the old, shallowing channel to rejuvenate the waterfront. Railroad access to the west was by transfer steamers and ferry barges until a combination railroad and highway bridge was built in 1936. This is the only River rail crossing between Baton Rouge and Memphis and the only highway crossing between Natchez and Greenville. Interstate Hwy 20 bridged the River in 1969 and freight rail traffic still crosses by the old bridge. North-South transportation links are by the Mississippi River and US Hwy 61.
On 12 March 1894, the popular soft drink Coca-Cola was bottled for the first time in Vicksburg by Joseph Biedenharn, a local druggist. Today, surviving nineteenth- century Biedenharn soda bottles are prized by collectors of Coca-Cola memorabilia.
Willie Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 1, 1915.
Vicksburg served as the primary refugee gathering point and temporary housing during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 which submerged an area of the Mississippi Delta nearly the size of New England. That Flood was the impetus towards establishment of the United States Army Corps of Engineers "Waterways Experiment Station" as the primary hydraulics laboratory to develop protection from the River. That establishment, now known as the "Engineering Research and Development Center," works in the areas of military engineering, information technology, environmental engineering, hydraulic engineering, and geotechnical engineering.
Geography
Vicksburg is located at 32°20'10" North, 90°52'31" West (32.335986, -90.875356)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 91.3 km² (35.3 mi²). 85.2 km² (32.9 mi²) of it is land and 6.2 km² (2.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.78% water. It is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 26,407 people, 10,364 households, and 6,612 families residing in the city. The population density is 310.1/km² (803.1/mi²). There are 11,654 housing units at an average density of 136.9/km² (354.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 37.80% White, 60.43% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 10,364 households out of which 32.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% are married couples living together, 24.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% are non-families. 32.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 3.15.
In the city the population is spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 77.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $28,466, and the median income for a family is $34,380. Males have a median income of $29,420 versus $20,728 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,174. 23.0% of the population and 19.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 34.8% of those under the age of 18 and 16.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The city is also home to two large Corps of Engineers installations, Waterways Experiment Station and the Vicksburg District headquarters.
See also: Geographic references, paragraph 6.
Trivia
One of the most unusual weather occurrences in Mississippi history occurred on May 11, 1894 at Bovina, MS, just outside of Vicksburg. On that day, a gopher turtle totally encased in ice fell with the hail.
External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth
References
- Cox, James L. The Mississippi Almanac. (2001). ISBN 0-9643545-2-7
